Mother Says God Told Her to Cut Baby

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Associated Press
Tuesday, February 21, 2006

McKINNEY, Tex., Feb. 20 -- A woman accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter felt that God was commanding her to cut off the baby's arms as well as her own limbs, a state psychiatrist testified Monday.

Dena Schlosser saw a TV news story about a boy being mauled by a lion and thought it was a sign of the apocalypse, a delusion that led her to sever the arms of her baby, David Self said.

"She felt she was basically commanded, in essence, to cut Maggie's arms off and her own arms off, and her legs and her head, and in some way to give them to God," said Self, who evaluated Schlosser in the months after her arrest.

Police found Schlosser in her living room, covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a hymn. She had sliced deep into her own shoulder and chopped off her baby's arms. Schlosser, 37, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and her attorneys are trying to prove she did not know right from wrong when Margaret, also known as Maggie, was killed.

Prosecutors, who are not seeking the death penalty, argue Schlosser knew what she was doing and should be sent to prison for life. If found not guilty, Schlosser would be hospitalized.